


honesty potion

by orphan_account



Category: Carry On - Rainbow Rowell
Genre: Explicit Language, M/M, PDA, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 22:39:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,223
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6539371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>watford has a new potions class. simon gets his hands on a truth serum. *cue angst*</p>
            </blockquote>





	honesty potion

It’s three months into fifth year, and I’m still not used to the new Potions course. Watford added the class to the core curriculum this year, but I honestly don’t give a shit about Potions. The professor is a jerk, the room always smells like Baz’s cologne (I don’t understand why, it started smelling the day they made a potion called  _ amortentia _ , I had no idea what it did and still don’t. More like  _ amorSTENCHia _ . I hate Baz’s cologne), and the class is simply difficult.

Penny loves the class, though. She makes fun of me whenever I screw up (not to actually be mean, of course. That part is reserved for Baz). The textbook is confusing, the ingredients are confusing; the class is just  _ confusing _ .

Baz is a Potions genius, of course. He brews everything perfectly. Nothing ever explodes in his face (even if it did, he would still look just as flawless though. I mean that in a completely objective way. It’s simply the truth). Nothing boils over and stains his clothes. Nothing comes  _ alive _ , for fuck’s sake, and tries to bite his fucking finger off (all of this shit happened to me).

So today, when I woke up, I was not looking forward to another Potions class. Another day of screwing up. At least in my other classes, if I didn’t follow the instructions I wouldn’t usually cause a near fatal accident (Actually, yes. I would.).

As I wove my way through the crowded halls of the main level of Watford, on my way to the basement, I was anxious to get through this class and walk with Penny on the grounds. The air was cool, but the sun was still out. A rare occurrence in England during late fall, and I planned to take advantage of it.

I nearly stumbled down the stairs to the basement, and one of my textbooks flew out of my hands, tumbling two flights of stairs before hitting the stone floor. 

“Dammit,” I muttered as I descended the stairs faster. I scooped the book up and shoved it into my messenger bag that is way too small (Penny keeps telling me to get a bigger bag, and I keep reminding her I can’t because there are no bag stores here, and it’s not like Amazon ships to a magickal boarding school.) (And there’s the no cell phone policy. It drives Penny crazy.)

My hands were full so I kick the door open to the Potions room. Penny looked up, startled at first then amused at my precarious situation. I hobbled over to our desk, almost tripping when Niall shoves his foot out in front of me. I snarled at him (not actually, it’s more like a sneer, I guess.), and he and Baz laughed (not a genuine one; an abrupt and ill-willed laugh).

“Simon, did you bring your whole library with you?” Penny asked as I threw my books on my desk.

“No, I just didn’t have time to figure out which books I needed so I grabbed them all.”

She smiled. “I guess that’s a solid plan, then.”

I slumped into my chair while the rest of the class filed in, Agatha sitting in front of us as always. I wanted to ask her out soon, but I wasn’t sure how. Penny said she would help me plan today.

A door creaked open at the front, and the professor walked in. She announced the assignment (another fucking potion, what a surprise), and Penny and I got to work. Well, Penny did. It was a partner assignment, and Penny knew how much I hated brewing, so she let me zone out.

Forty five minutes went by while I started blankly at the wall, thinking of different ways to approach Agatha. Flowers? Candy? A dance number? No, definitely not a dance number.

I was startled from my deep thought when Penny shook my shoulder. “Simon, the potion’s done. Just act like you help when I call the professor over.”

I stood up, hoping I wouldn’t be asked any questions. Penny leaned over to me at the last minute and whispered, “It’s a truth potion, by the way.” I nodded and tried to pay attention to the professor’s observations, ultimately failing and zoning out again.

I sat back down when she left, and Penny turned to me. “Do you want the potion? It was brewed perfectly, and I don’t need it. Maybe you could use it on Baz and see what he’s really plotting this year,” she said, smirking.

Penny was always making fun of me for how “obsessed” I was with Baz this year. I knew something’s up, something’s different, but I still hadn’t figured out what yet. Trailing him for three months hadn’t given me many clues, but I should be able to discover his plots by holiday break. Hopefully.

I nodded. “Yeah, Penny, that actually sounds really helpful,” I said seriously because I knew it would piss her off. It actually will be helpful. Following Baz through the catacombs was getting tiring.

She rolled her eyes, handing me a vial of clear liquid. “Take with food,” she said sarcastically before packing up her bag and walking out the door. I followed close behind.

-

After all of our classes were finished, I walked with Penny on the Great Lawn, where I finally decided to ask Agatha out by a series of secret admirer cards. It was cheesy, but hopefully foolproof.

I bid her goodbye as I headed back to Mummer’s House. Baz was probably back already from football practice, and I could use my potion. Penny had recommended putting it in the water he uses to wash his mouth after he brushes his teeth. It was a pretty good idea.

I walked into our room where I found Baz lounging across his bed, reading a book. He startled when I walked in, but quickly regained his cool composure.

“Hello, Snow. Bunce tired of you already?” he said, a smirk on his face.

“Shut it, Baz.”

He smirk widened, knowing he had pissed me off. I stalked into the bathroom where I washed my face and dumped the potion into the glass of water sitting on the counter. Baz was smug now, but I would find out whatever the fuck he was doing lately in a few hours, so I tried to stay calm.

Studying was boring, as it always was, but at some point Baz finally got up to brush his teeth and change. My knee bounced in anticipation. I was nervous he would discover what I did and cast a  **_Cat’s got your tongue_ ** like he did when we were younger, but then I remembered the Anathema. I supposed I was safe.

Baz strolled out of the bathroom, shoving his clothes into his wardrobe and curling up with his back facing me. I got up and moved to his side of the room, and he jolted into a sitting position, hair flying in his face.

“What the fuck are you doing on my side of the room, Snow?” He glared at me, eyes cruel and mouth set in his almost permanent frown.

“What are you planning Baz? What are you up to?”

His face went from angry to smug to confused, like he couldn’t figure out why he had the urge to tell me everything. Then realization dawned on his face. 

“You fucking drugged me, Snow. Didn’t you?” he snarled, jumping out of his bed and making like he would hit me.

“Anathema!” I shouted, and his fist paused three inches from my face.

“Baz, what are you plotting?”

He looked mortified, but he answered, “I’m not  _ plotting anything _ , you git.”

“Then why are you different this year?”

He struggled with his words, trying to hold them in, but the potion was too powerful, and they spilled out. “I’m a vampire, Snow. Get it? A fucking monster. So every single day you followed me into the Catacombs, I was just trying to drink some fucking rats in peace.”

I stumbled backwards, grabbing my wand and muttering the incantation for the Sword of Mages. Once it appeared in my hands, I held it between us. 

“But- but, you’re a vampire?” I stuttered. I had known something was different, but I wasn’t expecting  _ this _ .

My jaw had dropped, and I involuntarily lowered the Sword until it was hanging at my side. Baz realized what he had said, backing up until his back hit the door, and he swung it open, sprinting into the hallway, into the darkness. I stood dumbfounded for a few moments before I sheathed the sword and sprinted after him.

\--

I found him huddled in a corner of the Catacombs near his mother’s tomb. He was shaking, and his knees were pulled in front of him, arms wrapped tight around his legs. He heard me approach, looking at me with a startled expression.

“What the fuck more do you want, Snow? If you want to kill me, do it. This truth potion is much worse.”

I dropped to my knees in front of him. He scooted farther into the wall, and I let him. There were tears dripping down his face, but he looked angry. Angry and sad and alone and terrified. And it was all because of me.

“I- I didn’t mean to take it that far. I’m really sorry, Baz.”

His head snapped towards me, his face in a twisted scowl. “Sorry doesn’t fucking count, Snow. Now leave me the fuck alone. I want to have my last few minutes before you tell the Mage I’m a vampire and I get burned alive.”

I was taken aback. Did he really think I would tell the Mage? I wouldn’t because I knew he had never killed anyone. I asked anyone.

“Have you killed anyone?” I asked.

“What?” He shot me a menacing look, but his expression was still confused.

“If you haven’t killed anyone, then you’re not a monster.”

He snorted, like I was being ridiculous. “No, I haven’t killed anyone. But that doesn’t mean I’m not a monster.”

I leaned in closer. “Baz. You’re not a monster.” His nose was inches away from mine, my knees digging into the stone and his balanced between us.

The look in his eyes was heart-wrenching.  _ I _ had done this.  _ I _ had used that fucking truth serum. This was all my fault.

I leaned in closer still, looking into his eyes, making sure his was listening to me fully. “Baz. You are not a monster.”

And then I tipped forward and kissed him.

\--

The kiss was a lot different than what I had imagined my first kiss would be like. His mouth was cold, his face was cold, but his hands were warm after he held them against me for awhile.

His legs dropped and I kneeled in front of him, pushing him into the wall. His hands went to my hair, and then my face, and then my hair again. I was holding his waist pressing him against the wall. Because I was not letting him leave. The Mage was not going to take him.

I wasn’t sure if this meant I was gay, but I didn’t feel like thinking about it. Thinking was overrated.

Baz clenched his hands in my hair, shoving my face into his, and his mouth opened beneath mine. I groaned, pressing my fingers into his side before sliding them to his back, wrapping my arms around him.

His eyes were closed, and his face was actually flushing (he must have drained a rat before I got here). His fingers gripped the back of my neck before pulling me closer. I readjusted my legs so I was straddling him, and we just kissed. For at least a hour. Probably (I lost track of time). Our heights differences worked well because even though he was beneath me, I was shorter, so neither of us had to reach. 

I moved my mouth and began to kiss down his jawline. At this point, I wasn’t thinking at all. I was just  _ doing _ . And I couldn’t say that doing something like this hadn’t occurred to me before. Which was strange, but not surprising. 

I began to kiss down his neck, arching my back and sucking purple spots along his collarbone. He moaned, and I kept going, working my way across his shoulder as I unbuttoned his shirt.

“Snow.”

I was lost in what I was doing, and I didn’t respond. Baz was obviously enjoying this, whatever the hell this was. 

“Simon.”

I looked up at the use of my first name.

“What are we doing?”

He looked pensive, like he wasn’t sure this was real. I bumped his nose with mine.

“I don’t know. Do you want to stop?”

My heart fluttered nervously at the thought of having to stop, but he shook his head.

“Definitely not.”

I leaned forward again, smashing our mouths together. Nothing mattered but the boy beneath me, and I wasn’t going to let anyone take him.

\--

We woke up the next morning in the Catacombs, curled into each other. My hair was a mess, and his was hanging in his face. By the time we exited the Catacombs, it was already 10 am. After going back to Mummer’s, we didn’t bother attending classes for the rest of the day.


End file.
